Finally! Jacobellis wins first gold for Team USA 🥇
Happy Hump Day, Daily Briefing readers! Snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis broke a five-day drought to win Team USA's first gold medal of the Beijing Olympics. Will they stay or will they go? New York Gov. Kathy Hochul will make an announcement on mask mandates. And, lunch is served: Scroll down to find out how you can save some dough on National Pizza Day.
It's Jane, with Wednesday's news.
⚖️ A day before four students were killed at a Michigan school, the mother of the shooting suspect sent him a text message asking if he had showed teachers a "pic of your new gun," an investigator testified in court.
🥇 Team USA finally wins gold, Shaun White reaches the halfpipe final, Mikaela Shiffrin skis out of slalom. Tap here for live Olympic updates.
🔴 Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell called the Jan. 6 riot a "violent insurrection" and criticized the Republican National Committee for censuring Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger.
🚨 The city of Colorado Springs will pay nearly $3 million to the family of De'Von Bailey, a 19-year-old Black man who was shot and killed by police in 2019.
🚒 Several families whose loved ones died or were critically injured while trying to escape a smoked-filled Bronx apartment building sued the owners, alleging safety violations that led to the wrongful deaths of 17 people.
🏈 Authorities said that security at SoFi Stadium would be ramped up for Super Bowl 56, less than two weeks after a fan was attacked at the NFC championship game.
🎭Snubbed! Ben Affleck, Jennifer Hudson, Lady Gaga and Leonardo DiCaprio were some of the big names who missed out on Oscar nominations.
🔠 This is the best starting word to use to play Wordle, according to a math expert.
🎧 On today's 5 Things podcast, Supreme Court correspondent John Fritze talks through the Supreme Court shadow docket. You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your smart speaker.
Here's what's happening today:
New York could drop COVID-19 mask mandates
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and health officials are deciding whether to end or extend two COVID-19 mask mandates – one requiring face coverings in schools, the other mandating them in most other public indoor settings. Gov. Hochul, a Democrat, plans to announce Wednesday which rules will stay in place as the state emerges from a deadly wave of cases, fueled by the omicron variant. Hochul's decision would come days after governors of Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey and Oregon all said they would end mandatory masking in schools by the end of February or March. Some medical experts believe it's too soon to lift mask mandates, considering coronavirus infections nationwide reached their highest level only weeks ago and most of the country is still experiencing high transmission rates.
Lindsey Jacobellis wins first gold medal for US at Beijing Olympics, Nathan Chen and Chloe Kim aim to triumph
Lindsey Jacobellis sped to Team USA's first gold medal of the Beijing Olympics on Wednesday, prevailing in the women's snowboardcross. After a record-setting performance in the men's short program, figure skater Nathan Chen will look to continue his success in the long program and earn a gold medal Wednesday night. Although the competition is far from over, Chen is in a strong position to get his first Olympic gold medal after his brilliant showing Monday. Chen earned a score of 113.97 in the men's short program, the highest score ever in the event. In addition to Chen, Chloe Kim will have the opportunity to win a gold medal in the women's snowboarding halfpipe final — and make history. With a win, Kim would be the first woman ever to win Olympic gold twice in the halfpipe.
📱 Get exclusive Winter Olympics access: Sign up for USA TODAY’s Olympics texts to get the latest updates and behind-the-scenes coverage from Beijing.
📧 Sign up to the Chasing Gold newsletter for everything you need to follow Team USA's quest at the Olympics.
🏅 Who are you rooting for? Meet the American athletes competing at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in our searchable database.
Just for subscribers:
🧳 Traveling with disabilities: What does accessible travel mean? It varies family to family.
🏠 New homebuyers beware: Rising mortgage rates and rent prices may dash those starter home dreams.
👑 Duchess Camilla will be crowned "Queen Consort": Confused about why it's a big deal that she'll be called Queen Camilla when Prince Charles becomes king? We explain why.
🔴 Tennis star Peng Shuai resurfaced at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics this week, as the #MeToo movement flickers in and out of sight in China.
These articles are for USA TODAY subscribers. You can sign up here. Here is all of our subscriber content.
Will gas prices continue upward trajectory?
Gas prices may be on the rise again Wednesday, as the cost of fuel continues to surge with no signs of slowing down, according to the American Automobile Association. The national average for gas was $3.46 per gallon as of Tuesday, slightly up from Monday's average of $3.44 and nearly a dollar more than last year's average of $2.47 According to AAA, the reasons behind the higher gas prices are a combination of increased demand for heating oil in the winter months and the tension between Russia and Ukraine. Russia is a member of OPEC+, and any sanctions based on its actions toward Ukraine may cause it to withhold crude oil from the global market. The price of crude oil is a key determiner for prices at the pump. Moscow has massed over 100,000 troops near Ukraine's borders, but insists it has no plans to attack.
Fact check: No plans for fourth stimulus check
With tax season underway, some experts have warned that a fourth stimulus check will not be dispensed on Wednesday – contrary to a viral YouTube video claiming it will. An array of social media posts and videos claim a fourth round of stimulus checks are on the way, but none have followed through with any proof of an upcoming payment. Over three million people have signed a Change.org petition calling for recurring $2,000 payments for adults and $1,000 payments for children until the pandemic ends. But no such payment has yet been approved, IRS spokesperson Eric Smith told USA TODAY. This isn’t the first time people have posted misinformation about fourth stimulus checks. Similar posts also circulated in May and July of 2021.
ICYMI: Some of our top stories yesterday
🚨 A 17-year-old was arrested in connection to a homicide investigation that led to the death of Amir Locke, who was shot and killed by a Minneapolis police officer last week during a predawn "no-knock" raid.
😷 An unvaccinated father in Canada lost custody of his three children, one of whom is a 10-year-old immunocompromised child, according to reports.
⛷ Opinion: Eileen Gu's life is getting more complicated after winning gold at the Beijing Olympics for China.
🎭 Oscar nominations 2022: "The Power of the Dog" looked close to a front-runner with 12 nominations, including four acting honors.
🏈 Opinion: New Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel doesn't owe anyone an explanation about his Blackness.
Grab a couple slices: It's National Pizza Day
Wednesday is a day to save some dough on one of the most popular foods. Feb. 9 is National Pizza Day, and businesses across the nation are celebrating with discounted pizza and other specials. With the Super Bowl on Sunday, there will be more pizza deals this weekend, and you'll also be able to find heart-shaped pizza ahead of Valentine's Day. USA TODAY's Kelly Tyko gives the rundown on how you can snag a deal on a tasty slice or two from Domino's, Papa John's and many more pizza outlets.
📸 Oscar nominations are here! Meet the top contenders for the 2022 Academy Awards 📸
The 2022 Oscar nominations are in! And Jane Campion's Western tale "The Power of the Dog" is looking like a front-runner with 12 nominations.
Will "King Richard" star Will Smith reign on Oscar night? He's up for best actor in a contingent that includes Denzel Washington ("The Tragedy of Macbeth"), Javier Bardem ("Being the Ricardos"), Benedict Cumberbatch ("The Power of the Dog") and Andrew Garfield ("tick, tick ... BOOM!").
Recent Golden Globe winner Nicole Kidman ("Being the Ricardos") will be going for her second best-actress win against Olivia Colman ("The Lost Daughter"), Jessica Chastain ("The Eyes of Tammy Faye"), Penelope Cruz ("Parallel Mothers") and Kristen Stewart ("Spencer").
The 94th annual Academy Awards, airing March 27, will again have a host – for the first time in four years – plus plenty of intrigue about who's getting what honors.
Scroll through the gallery to see the top contenders.
Contributing: The Associated Press